I decided last minute to get away for one night – by last minute I mean at 10:30 a.m. I said to my husband “Hey, would you mind if I went camping tonight?” to which he replied “You do you babe.” So food prep and packing commenced, and I was out the door by 1 p.m.
Solo camping is one of my favorite things to do now, and always leaves me feeling recharged and de-stressed.
As I’ve gotten older, I’ve gained more self awareness and self confidence. I bring a knife, a baseball bat, and scope out the area before I set up, but so far I’ve never felt unsafe.
I’m not anti-social.
Sharon Mammoser
I’m pro-solitude.
When I arrived, the camp host asked if I had a site in mind and I said I wanted something preferably on the river, but if not on the river, something private as it was just me and my fur baby Zola. I lucked out with a spot that backed onto the river, and the fire pit was set far enough back I could enjoy my fire and the river view at the same time! There is just something so relaxing about sitting by a fire next to a river…
At $18 a night, this recreation site is a good option for those that don’t want to drive too far. You turn off the paved Morris Valley Road into the rec site, and park at the host. He helps you choose a site(if you don’t have a reservation like me), you pay, and you’re on your way, only to see him again if you need wood or something – my kind of camp host!
This is your typical Recreation site with pit toilets, bear caches, and you can drop your organic waste/food scraps at the host site, which is an option I haven’t seen before. Otherwise, it’s pack out what you pack in, and no running water. This time of year, it’s also BYOTP – Bring Your Own Toilet Paper! To read more about the rules and rates for this site, check out their website here.
The Host also let me know they had added a nice wide, mostly flat, gravel path that you can walk up to 4km on. I enjoyed exploring that with coffee in hand on Sunday morning. Someone is obviously a talented woodworker because there were several of these beautiful, new looking benches along the way! I can’t imagine the hours of work it took to create this beautiful path, but I enjoyed every step of it.
I got Site #45 which had a gorgeous view of the river, but some traffic noise from the road. If I went again I would try for one of the lower site numbers further from the road, but still on the river. But being last-minute on a Saturday afternoon, I was happily surprised to get a river site!
I liked that my fire pit was behind two large rocks, closer to the river meaning the campsite was plenty roomy without having to worry about how close you’re parked to the fire pit. It also allowed me to enjoy the beauty of the river sitting right next to my fire!
It was surprisingly busy for February, but I only had neighbors on one side of me which was nice.
Sunday morning I woke up to rain at 5 a.m. but when I woke up again, the rain had stopped. I walked over to the outhouse, got my fire going and started on my coffee and breakfast. I had to set up my stove because I had cooked over the fire the night before, but I don’t mess around getting my coffee done.
One of the things I love about solo camping is the simplicity of it. I had precooked chicken souvlaki the day before, so I chopped up a quick greek salad with feta and had everything in containers. Then I sliced up a potato and added slices of red onion, topped it with shredded cheese, and wrapped it in foil. That was my appetizer, cooked over the fire, and it was delicious!
I had these little foil cups that I have had forever, planning to use them for another recipe, but they came in super handy for reheating my chicken over the fire, and for cooking my cheesy eggs the next morning! They made for even easier cleanup too!
Not far from the camp host is a nice covered area with several beautifully designed informative signs about the area, some history on the Sts’ailes people and their land, as well as types of fishing in the area.
This looks like a very family friendly campground, as I saw several families on my walk and having cell service is an added bonus when traveling with kids.
Moments of solitude with Mother Nature is sunshine to a soul.
Anthony Douglas Williams
As always, thank you for reading! I’ll have more solo trips to post about soon, as the rain lessens (hopefully) and overnight temperatures start to rise a bit.
Do you tent? Or sleep in your vehicle?
Both! Rain was in the forecast for Sunday so this time I set up my backseat air mattress, easiest cleanup on a rainy morning 🙂